Current Affairs, 23 June 2018 Exam View - From The Hindu and PIB

Current Affair of 23 June 2018. Read Important Current Affairs for UPSC/SSC/Bank and other state exam

NATIONAL

Prime Minister lays foundation stone of paperless Vanijya Bhawan

Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of Vanijya Bhawan, a new office complex for the Union Department of Commerce. It will be a completely paperless office with state-of-the-art-facilities such as smart access control, central air-conditioning, video conferencing and completely networked systems.

The Vanijya Bhawan will be a green building with all the required certifications. The layout of the building has been planned so as to minimise the number of trees that would have to be cut.

Rajasthan, Haryana get notice over deforestation in Aravallis

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC issued notices to the Centre and the State governments of Rajasthan and Haryana over deforestation in the Aravallis, which has “led to air pollution in the Capital”.

“The NHRC has taken suo motu cognizance of media reports that massive deforestation in the Aravallis for business interests in Rajasthan and Haryana is the root cause behind the increasing dust storms and air pollution in Delhi and the NCR during the past several days creating health concerns”.

The NHRC has observed that the gravity of the issue demands proactive and effective measures by the authorities to stop deforestation and degradation of the Aravallis.

The open forest cover in the Aravallis has decreased in the last three decades while the scrub has increased by 5.7% making it almost barren without any moisture in the air. If its degradation is not checked, the day is not far when desertification will badly affect a host of ecosystem services, including rain, ground water level and habitat for hundreds of flora and fauna.

INTERNATIONAL

Russia To Supply Technical Security Equipment to India

Russian state atomic energy corporation Rosatom subsidiary Nikiret has signed an agreement with Indian engineering services firm Core Energy Systems Pvt Ltd for the promotion of its technical security equipment in India.

This partnership is a major milestone towards sourcing of technology and equipment from Russia and developing security systems and solutions for the defense sector and other strategic installations like nuclear, oil and gas in India.

The two companies will jointly explore opportunities and provide a wide range of services including access control and security systems, data acquisition and processing and mobile security.

Canada legalized marijuana

Marijuana will be legal nationwide in Canada starting October 17 in a move that should take market share away from organised crime and protect the country's youth.

The Senate gave final passage to the bill to legalise cannabis, legislation that will make Canada only the second country in the world to make pot legal across the country.

US President Donald Trump orders to end separation of immigrant families

US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to keep together immigrant families who have been detained at the border with Mexico.

With the decision, Trump reversed his own policy amid heavy pressure from his fellow Republicans, Democrats and the international community, over the separation of undocumented parents and children.

International yoga day observed globally

The 4th International yoga day was celebrated across the world on June 21, 2018. The day’s celebrations in India were led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Dehradun.

The Prime Minister joined thousands of volunteers, performing Yoga asanas in the lawns of Forest Research Institute in Dehradun. Similar Yoga related events were held across the world to mark the occasion.

In fact, ahead of the yoga day, the PM Modi had taken to social media to share the intricacies of various Yoga Asanas. He also shared pictures of people performing Yoga, at various locations across the world.

BUSINESS

India retaliates to US tariffs, hikes import duty on 29 US products

In a retaliatory move to the heavy tariffs imposed by the United States on imported steel and aluminium items, India has decided to raise customs duty on 29 US products including almond, walnut and pulses. The duty hike by India would have equivalent tariff implications for the US.

The duty hike decision by India is similar to that of the European Union and China which decided to levy higher import duties on a variety of US products in retaliation to its protectionist policies.

2nd edition of MSME Pulse report by SIDBI-TransUnion CIBIL released

The Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), a premier financial institution for the promotion, financing and development of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) sector, in joint venture with TransUnion CIBIL, a Credit Information Company, has released the second edition of MSME Pulse, a quarterly report on MSME sector.

The report provides the policy makers, regulators and industry with precise data-driven insights to support policy as well as business decisions. The first edition of the report was released in March 2018.

SCIENCE and Technology

Indian scientists discover sub-Saturn like planet around a sun-like star

An Indian team of scientists led by Professor Abhijit Chakraborty of Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), Ahmedabad, have discovered a sub-Saturn or super-Neptune size planet around a Sun-like star.

The planet has a mass of about 27 Earth Mass and size of 6 Earth Radii. It goes around the host star in about 19.5 days.

The discovery was made by measuring the mass of the planet using the indigenously designed ‘PRL Advance Radial-velocity Abu-sky Search’ (PARAS) spectrograph integrated with 1.2m Telescope at PRL’s Gurushikhar Observatory in Mount Abu, India.

ISRO clears GSAT-11 for launch

The 5,700-kg GSAT-11 satellite was slated for launch on May 26 from Kourou, a site in South America which India uses to launch its heavy-weight satellite.

In a setback to the ISRO, the space agency lost contact with GSAT-6A after it was launched in March this year. Although the ISRO has been trying to establish with GSAT-6A, a satellite meant for military communication, it has found little success. This also led to the ISRO recalling GSAT-11 for conducting thorough checks.

LIFE

Legalisation of Marijuana

Canada is to become the second country in the world to fully legalise marijuana after Uruguay.

It paves the way for recreational cannabis to be legally bought and sold within the next two or three months.

Medical marijuana is already legal in Canada.

Marijuana is a psychoactive drug from the Cannabis plant used for medical, recreational & religious purposes.

Cannabis can be used by smoking, vaporization, within food, or as an extract.

It creates mental and physical effects, such as a "high" or "stoned" feeling, a general change in perception, and an increase in appetite.

Short term side effects may include a decrease in short-term memory, dry mouth, impaired motor skills, red eyes, and feelings of paranoia or anxiety.

Long term side effects may include addiction, decreased mental ability and behavioural problems in children whose mothers used cannabis during pregnancy.